Lost
by 7thxheavenxx
Summary: Natalie's positive she doesn't want to go to college after high school and wants to travel. Once her mom finds out, she refuses to finance it and tells Natalie she's on her own until she comes to her senses. She begins to lose focus of what she wants and starts going downhill. Alternate season 6 storyline.
1. The Big Reveal

It was the usual Friday morning in the household. Ms. Garrett cooked pancakes and sausage for breakfast and the girls ate together for about ten minutes before they had to go their separate ways. Jo and Blair had to go to their classes at Langley, Natalie and Tootie had their classes at Eastland, and Ms. Garrett ran Edna's Edibles while the girls were busy. The only thing that was different was that Natalie didn't come downstairs to eat that morning.

"Where's Natalie?" Ms. Garrett asked curious to why she wasn't eating.

"Upstairs," Tootie answered with her mouth full of food.

"Well I know that. Why isn't she downstairs?" Ms. Garrett wondered.

"She was in a quiet mood last night. Her mom wants her to come with her to go visit her father's grave this afternoon," Jo explained.

"Oh that's right. It's the one year anniversary of her father's death," Ms. Garrett realized. "Maybe I should go upstairs and talk to her."

"Maybe that would help," Blair agreed. "I tried to get her to talk about it last night but she wouldn't open up to me."

Ms. Garrett stood up from the table and walked upstairs to check on Natalie. She opened the door to see her brushing her hair on her bed. She lightly knocked on the paneling by the door to get her attention.

"I noticed that you didn't come downstairs for breakfast. Is everything okay?" Ms. Garrett asked.

"Yeah everything's fine. I just wasn't hungry this morning," Natalie answered.

"I see. Jo told me you're going to go visit your father's grave this afternoon." Ms. Garrett said. "It reminded me that today it's been one year since he passed away."

"Yeah, mom and I are going to go lay some flowers down," Natalie replied.

"That's good. It's been a while since you stopped by," Ms. Garrett pointed out.

"It's been a few months," Natalie said as she looked at her watch. "I have to get going or I'm going to be late."

"Okay. Have a good day at school," Ms. Garrett replied.

"I'll have as good a day as anyone can have at school," Natalie joked.

* * *

It had been about four months since Natalie last stopped by to visit her father. She felt bad about that but it was senior year and she was busier than ever with homework, extracurricular activities and working at Edna's Edibles.

Natalie really didn't want to go to school. Whenever she felt down it always made her feel better to write about it, whether it be in her diary or a story. She was in the mood to write and she knew she wouldn't have full concentration to do so at school.

She stopped in front of Eastland right as the morning bell rang and debated if she really wanted to go in or not. After weighing the pros and cons in her head for about a minute she decided to go with her gut instinct and wonder off in the opposite direction of Eastland. What could missing one day hurt?

Natalie decided to hang out at a local park not too far from Eastland. There was a vacant picnic table where she sat. It was a sun shiny day with the birds chirping and it was nice and peaceful. She pulled her pen and notepad and continued working on a story she had started earlier.

After about an hour of writing she broke her focus and looked over to see a young male sitting by a tree. He noticed Natalie looking at him and smiled at her. He was rather tall about 6'1" with a thin build and brown hair. He was dressed in a grey Langley sweatshirt with matching grey sweatpants. She cracked a smile back and looked back down to her work.

He stood up and walked over to her.

"Hi. I'm John," he introduced himself and put his hand to shake hers.

"I'm Natalie," she reciprocated.

"Do you go to Langley?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I go to Eastland."

"Oh. I was just wondering because you are wearing a Langley sweatshirt," he acknowledged.

"I used to take an Advanced Placement class there but for the most part I get my apparel from my friends who go there," Natalie said.

"Oh cool. Are you going back once you graduate?" John wondered.

"I don't know. I hate the thought of going to college right away. I want to see the world a little bit but I know I'll have hell to pay if I don't," Natalie replied.

"Well I was in your shoes two years ago. I wanted to work at my father's hardware store, maybe someday manage it. My parents insisted that I work there part time and go to Langley full time and that I do what they weren't able to achieve themselves. Besides being on the track team I've been miserable there. Take the advice from the stranger at the park and do what your gut tells you to do," John advised.

"Well I don't always take advice from strangers," Natalie lightly chucked. "You seem to know what you're talking about though. It's just hard because my father died last year and he really wanted me to go to college. I don't want to feel like I'm letting him down if I don't go."

"Every parent wants the best for their child but they also want their child to be happy," John advised.

"I see what you're saying. Maybe that advice works for both of us?" Natalie replied.

"Maybe," John smiled. "Well I have a class at noon so I have to get going. It was nice talking to you Natalie.

"Yeah same here," Natalie said.

"I completely understand if you say no but would you like to exchange phone numbers?" John asked.

"Yeah that would be nice," Natalie said as she tore off a sheet of paper and wrote her phone number on it. "Here you go." John wrote down his number in exchanged and waved goodbye.

Natalie felt weird about telling a stranger about her feelings but it felt good to finally tell someone about the doubts she's been having about college for a few months now. She knew her mother would flip out and the girls back at home wouldn't understand. Jo and Blair kept pressuring her to go back to Langley and Ms. Garrett would be disappointed. Tootie was the only one who would come closest to understanding but she wasn't sure how she'd react either so she never told her.

* * *

A few hours later it was getting close to the time she would head home from school. She was expecting to be grilled by Tootie about why she didn't see her around at Eastland all day because they always ate lunch together and saw each other through the halls a few times throughout the day. She didn't care though because today she was going to tell her mom the truth about her future plans and she was nervous about it.

She walked into the house and Tootie had beaten her home and was in the living room.

"Where were you today?" Tootie questioned her and was rather upset.

"I had something I needed to do," Natalie answered.

"Nothing is that important that you needed to cut class Natalie," Tootie lectured her.

"I know it was wrong. It won't happen again just please don't tell anyone else that I wasn't at school okay?" Natalie asked.

"Fine. Only this once and only because you're my best friend but if you skip class again I won't keep it a secret," Tootie agreed

"It won't," Natalie smiled and gave Tootie a hug. Tootie reciprocated the hug.

"Oh by the way your mom called. She's on her way she should be here any minute," Tootie said.

"Okay thanks," Natalie replied.

* * *

A few minutes later Natalie's mom pulled up. Natalie got in the car and they drove off. They had small talk about Eastland and how other family members were doing along the way.

Once they arrived at the graveyard it was complete silence. She couldn't believe an entire year as gone by without her father being around.

"I wish your dad were here to see you graduate in a few months and head off to college. He was always so proud of you," her mom broke the silence.

Natalie nodded and felt like she had a pit at the bottom of her stomach.

"I know," Natalie replied as she put down the flowers.

Once they eventually left Natalie felt like it was time to open up. She didn't have that much time until she started hearing from the colleges she did apply for and she felt like it was better to let her know sooner rather than later.

"Mom, I've been thinking about Langley…" Natalie started off with.

"I know it's a great school isn't it? Of course Princeton's better but if you don't get in Langley is a good second choice," her mom interrupted.

"Yeah it's a fine school. I'm just not sure it's for me right now," Natalie finished.

"That's okay honey. You applied for lots of other schools. I'm sure one will accept you and you'll have options," her mom said.

"No. I mean I don't want to go to college right now. I want to take time to travel a bit and experience the world for my writing," Natalie said.

"That's ridiculous Natalie if you want to be a writer college is where you learn how to write," her mom disagreed.

"I know and I'm going to go someday once I'm ready but I don't want to go right now," Natalie replied.

"Do you know how disappointed your father if he heard what you were saying right now? You're too good a student not to go. You're the best writer in your class!" her mom argued.

"I feel bad enough mom. I know dad wanted me to go college and I am! Just not right now," Natalie argued back.

"You've got your whole life to travel Natalie," her mom tried reasoning with her. "Why not get a college education, get a good publishing deal and then travel?"

"I've made up my mind mom," Natalie said, tired of her repeating herself.

"If you do your traveling thing I can't stop you. I'm not paying for it though. You're going to have to get a second job and save up yourself," her mom retorted.

"That's not fair!" Natalie shouted. "Why are you so against me doing what I want with my life?"

"It's a waste of time, it's a waste of money and you're not thinking clearly," her mom shouted back. "I'll gladly pay for your college once you wake up and realize it's the right thing for you."

A few minutes of arguing the same argument back and forth got her nowhere. Natalie was silent the rest of the way home. She was furious that she would have to get a job, meaning the traveling she was hoping to do over the summer would have to wait until she saved up enough money. Once her mom dropped her off she stormed out of the car without saying bye and grabbed the newspaper off the coffee table in the living room.

"Guess I better start looking," Natalie mumbled to herself.


	2. The Opportunity

The next afternoon the girls were working at the shop. Between the customers that came in and out, and preparing and packaging the food a woman had ordered for a large party it was a busy day. Natalie didn't have any luck finding anything that worked for her in the newspaper but after getting a good night sleep she woke up feeling more optimistic. Her main goal was to find something where she could write but she was ready to accept anything that would get her one step closer to hitting the road.

She hadn't talked to John since they parted ways the day before. She was torn between calling him and not calling him. Despite him practically being a stranger there was a part of her that felt calling him was right but she didn't because she wasn't sure what to expect. There was the possibility he wouldn't even remember her and even if he did it all felt very weird.

In the kitchen she was helping by packaging one of the many batches that were to come of freshly made apple strudel. Tootie was helping her as well while Blair and Jo were handling the customers.

Jo popped her head in to the kitchen and interrupted.

"Nat you have a phone call. Make it quick, we're swamped," Jo ordered.

Natalie went to the living room to go answer her phone call hoping it wasn't her mother.

"Hello?" Natalie answered.

"Hey, it's John from yesterday."

Natalie was surprised that he actually called her. She smiled a little bit even though the timing couldn't be any worse.

"Hey how's it going?" she asked.

"Pretty good I just got off my shift at work, and you?"

"I'm fine. I'm actually pretty busy right now though I'm in the middle of work."

"I'm sorry. I'll make it short then. I was just calling to see if you wanted to do something tomorrow night." He asked.

"Yeah that would be nice," she accepted.

"Okay great. I'll call you back later and we can discuss the details."

They both said goodbye and Natalie went back to work.

* * *

A couple hours passed and the girls successfully finished everything they had to do. Blair and Tootie both went to their room to get ready for the dates they were going on while Natalie and Jo agreed to straighten up the shop.

"If only we got that much business every day," Natalie commented.

"You know how it is with Ms. Garrett's apple strudel specials. Nobody can resist them," Jo responded grinning as she organized the cash in the nearly full cash register.

"Tell me about it," Natalie replied. "That woman could give Sara Lee some real competition."

The phone rang and Jo went to answer it.

"Phone's for you," Jo said handing Natalie the phone. Natalie assumed it was John calling back and grabbed it.

"Hello," Natalie said in an upbeat tone of voice.

"Hello Natalie," her mom greeted.

Natalie quickly hung up the phone. She was still upset with her and she was the last person Natalie wanted to talk to.

"Why did you just hang up on your mom?" Jo asked concerned.

"I don't want to talk to her," Natalie truthfully answered.

"Are you guys arguing or something?" Jo wondered.

"Or something," Natalie replied hastily.

"Well whatever it is not talking to your mother isn't going to help," Jo advised.

A few seconds later the phone rang again. Natalie knew it was her mother calling back so she exited the room. Shortly after Jo came into the living room and found Natalie.

"Your mom left a message. She found a job opening at the Peekskill Press that she thinks you'll be interested in," Jo delivered with a phone number written on a post-it.

"Let me see that," Natalie's eyes lit up as she reached to grab it. "Yes this is perfect! I'm calling first thing in the morning."

"Don't you think you should call your mom back and say thanks?" Jo hinted.

"I will later." Jo rolled her eyes and went back into the kitchen to finish cleaning.

Shortly after Tootie came down to wait for Jeff to pick her up for their date. Natalie was super excited and couldn't wait to share the news with her best friend.

"Tootie I got big news!" Natalie said eagerly.

"What is it?" Tootie asked as she was putting on a necklace.

"The Peekskill Press has a job opening! Guess who is applying first thing in the morning?"

"That's great Nat," Tootie smiled. "What kind of job is it?"

"I'm not sure but working there no matter what the job is would be perfect for me."

"That's exciting for you," Tootie said.

"With my luck the only writing I'll get to do is writing down coffee orders," Natalie assumed.

"Well good luck. Let me be the first to know how it goes."

* * *

The next morning Natalie called about the job at the Peekskill Press. They told her they were doing interviews for an intern position and to come in at noon for her interview. Once she got there she felt butterflies at the pit of her stomach. There were several people there; some Natalie's age and some older. She hoped she wouldn't be next in line to be interviewed so she can fully prepare how she would answer certain questions if they were to be asked but she wasn't so lucky.

The interview went rather smoothly. The interviewer was impressed with Natalie's resume and appreciated her sense of humor and told her they would call her back as soon as they make a decision. The sucky part of it all was waiting for that phone call.

Natalie went back home to wait. Ms. Garrett was watering her plants in the living room when Natalie entered through the front door.

"Natalie!" Ms. Garrett said excitedly. "How did your interview go?"

"Better than I expected. They said they'll call when they make a decision," Natalie answered.

"I've got my fingers crossed for you."

"Thanks. Now what I need is something to distract me from thinking about this job before I go insane," Natalie said as she took a seat on the couch.

"Well I know of one thing you can do. Your mother called she wants you to call her back. She said you're ignoring her calls, is that true?" Ms. Garrett asked.

"We just had a disagreement. Everything's fine though I'll call her back once I get the job call," Natalie said to prevent Ms. Garrett from getting involved.

"Good she sounded upset," Ms. Garrett replied. "I'm going to go prepare lunch, would you rather have B.L.T's or turkey sandwiches?"

Natalie wasn't sure what she wanted. "Surprise me."

"Okay turkey sandwiches it is then!"

Natalie sat there for a minute trying to think of what to do while she was waiting. She grabbed the daily newspaper and noticed underneath it was a letter addressed to her from Langley. She picked it up and opened it, confirming her acceptance which she wasn't surprised about. She applied to seven different schools and Langley was the least prestigious of all the schools she applied for. She wondered why Ms. Garrett didn't tell her it came. The only thing she could think of was that Ms. Garrett wasn't the one that got the mail that morning.

The phone then rang and Natalie rushed to answer it. It was the job letting her know they had a lot of great people to choose from and that they decided to go with somebody else. She took a minute to let the rejection sink in, and then she folded her arms and sighed as she thought about what she did wrong at the interview. She was crushed that such a perfect opportunity slipped through her fingers.

Ms. Garrett entered with a tray of turkey sandwiches with lettuce, tomato and mustard just how all the girls like them.

"Lunch is ready!" Ms. Garrett called to all the girls. She looked over and noticed Natalie looked distressed. "What's wrong Natalie?"

"I didn't get the job," Natalie sighed.

Ms. Garrett knew how passionate Natalie was about this particular job. For the six years she knew Natalie that was all she ever wanted to do. She walked over to her and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry."


	3. First Night Out

After not getting the job she wasn't feeling eager to hang out with John, however she didn't want to be rude and cancel on him. She decided to suck it up and do her best to fake appearing like she's in a good mood. They had talked earlier and they decided they were going to grab a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant. He was on his way to pick her up. Natalie was sitting on the couch waiting and Blair appeared from the kitchen to make small talk as she waited.

"Tootie tells me you're going on a date tonight. What is he like?" Blair asked.

"I wouldn't really call it a date. He's just some guy I met and had a conversation with," Natalie answered.

"Well is he cute?"

"I guess. His name is John. He goes to Langley."

"Ooh a Langley man," Blair smiled. "I know lots of John's at Langley. I've even been out with a few."

"Well I hope you haven't been out with this one," Natalie replied.

"I doubt it. John is such a common name there's millions of them."

Natalie felt the need to sigh out loud but didn't because Blair was beside her. Blair wasn't helping her feel more optimistic about going out by giving her the idea that this guy could have been out with Blair in the past. She heard a knocking at the door and got up to let John in.

"Hi," he greeted.

"Hi. John this is my friend Blair," Natalie introduced them, hopefully for the first time.

"Hello," Blair greeted. Blair recognized him but she struggled to pinpoint how exactly she knew him but she didn't have a good feeling. She just knew he wasn't somebody she dated.

"I've seen you around campus hanging out with a dark-haired girl," he said.

"Right that's our friend Jo. She lives here as well," Blair clarified.

"There are five of us who live here. Me, Blair, Jo, Tootie who goes to Eastland with me and Ms. Garrett who owns the shop," Natalie explained. "They aren't around right now."

"Cool," he replied. "Well it was nice actually meeting you Blair." Blair smiled and nodded.

* * *

He drove her to a local restaurant. They went in and were seated at a table for two. She had never been to that restaurant before so she examined the menu carefully.

"Double cheeseburger and fries for me," John said without even opening his menu.

"I take it you've been here before," Natalie replied.

"Many times," he confirmed. "Do you know what you want?"

"Yes I think I'm going to get the salmon," she answered.

"Interesting choice. Fish is excellent brain food which is great for a writer," he said. Natalie didn't give a response back which made him nervous. "Is something wrong? Is it me?"

"No I'm sorry. The past few days have just been rather crummy. I told my mom how I felt about college and she told me she wouldn't pay for my traveling so now I'm sort of forced to get a job or else there's no way I'll be able to do it," she explained.

"Man that sucks," he replied.

"That's not even all of it. So my mom found out there was an opening at the Peekskill Press which is the job I would have killed for and I didn't get it. I know there will be other opportunities but I just can't stop thinking about it."

"I understand. You're with me now though and I'm going to do my best to show you a good time tonight. If you don't go home tonight feeling a little bit better then I will have failed too," he said trying to cheer her up. Natalie couldn't help but smile at the attempt. "So, outside of writing what do you like?"

"Bruce Springsteen. I'm a huge fan of his. My room would be flooded with posters of him if I didn't have to share it with three other girls." He chuckled at her fangirling and found it kind of cute. "You can't tell me there isn't one celebrity you had a crush on growing up."

"Oh there was. I just don't know if I want to say."

"Why not," she asked.

"It's embarrassing now. The crush was when I was a pre-pubescent boy. I've long outgrown it since."

"If you tell me it might help cheer me up," she bribed eager to get the answer out of him.

"Fine," he gave in. "It was Dolly Parton. My mom had her records and I'd play them over and over. Sometimes my mom would hide them from me because she was so sick of hearing the same songs repeated."

"Believe me if my mom hears Bruce Springsteen one more time her ears will melt off," she joked.

The waiter interrupted their conversation to take their order. They continued to chat about their music tastes until their food arrived. Natalie was enjoying the conversation and was loosening up and having a good time. A lot of the things that she didn't pay much attention to before like his sparkly green eyes, his chiseled jaw line and the blonde highlights in his brown spiky hair began to stand out.

He finished his last bite and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Do you mind if I go use the payphone real quick?"

"Not at all," she replied.

After a few minutes she finished up her meal and he returned back to their table.

"I'm sorry to have to ask this but do you mind if we go and pick up my best friend Chase? He's drunk at a party and he doesn't have a ride home."

"I guess that's fine," she said. Picking up a drunken guy she never met wasn't something she really wanted to do but she understood the situation.

"I'm really sorry," he apologized again.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later they arrived at some random person's house where the party was being thrown. They both went inside. Natalie made sure to stick close to him to avoid random people from talking to her.

"There he is," he pointed at a brown haired, slightly muscular guy conversing with a couple other people on the couch. They walked over and approached him.

"Hey man," he stumbled over and did a special handshake with him. "Who's this?"

"This is my friend Natalie," John answered. "Natalie this is my buddy Chase."

"Nice meeting you Natalie," he stumbled over to her and shook her hand. She reciprocated.

"Gravity isn't your friend right now is it," Natalie commented.

Being intoxicated had him laughing at the comment harder than he should have. "I guess not. I should sit then. You guys should sit with me."

Natalie looked over at John hoping he'd get them out of there but instead he sat down. She didn't want to complain so she took a seat beside him.

Chase put his arm around John. "Do you know how long I've known him? Fifteen years. Fifteeeen!"

John looked into his drink and seen he had a half of a glass of whisky left. "Here you've had enough. I better finish this for you."

Natalie realized at that point they weren't leaving anytime soon. She felt uncomfortable and slightly annoyed but decided to stick it out to avoid being a downer.

"Fifteen years is a long time," Natalie responded.

"You're telling me," Chase replied. "How long have you known him?"

"A couple days," she answered.

"She goes to Eastland that private school for girls," John told him.

"Really? I went to Bates Academy," Chase said.

"I've probably been to a few of your school dances with my friends then," Natalie replied.

"Who are your friends?" Chase wondered.

"Tootie Ramsey, Jo Polniaczek, Blair Warner…," she listed before he cut her off.

"Blair Warner, I know her. She went out with one of my friends. She's a total babe. Doesn't she go to Langley? Is she single?"

"I'm pretty sure she is and yes she does," Natalie answered.

"Cool hopefully I remember this when I'm sober," he said.

A lady walked up to them with a tray of jello shots offering some. Before Natalie could get a word in edgewise John grabbed three off the tray.

"Here try this Natalie. It's just a jello shot," John insisted.

Natalie smelled it since she never had one before. She wasn't sure if she should swallow it but decided to since she was curious about what jello shots actually tasted like. Her only experience with alcohol was the time her, Jo and Blair drank in their room and Tootie got them busted by getting drunk herself. Even then that was straight from the bottle drinks and nothing as fancy as a jello shot.

"Wow that was good," Natalie said.

"Whiskey tastes even better. Want some?" Chase offered.

"No thanks," Natalie rejected.

John grabbed the whiskey bottle and refilled his glass. Next thing they knew "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen was playing throughout the room.

"Your favorite! We have to dance," John stood up and grabbed her hand. Natalie was feeling a bit tipsy from the jello shot and complied.

"What the hell I'll dance," Chase mumbled to himself.

The three of them joined the rest of the party goers on the dance floor. The guys were having trouble staying up without stumbling and Natalie was amused watching them try to. The lady past through with more jello shots and Natalie decided to grab another one. She swallowed it and John spun her around like they were the only ones in the room. After that song ended they continued to stay on the dance floor for a while. They both grabbed another jello shot. Natalie couldn't believe she was having such a good time. Once they got off the dance floor John was ready to head out.

"Alright are you guys ready to head out?" John asked.

It just then hit Natalie that all three of them were drunk and he was her ride home.

"I'm going to call home and see if one of my friends can come get me. We've all been drinking," Natalie said.

"Okay that's fine. I'll wait with you until one of them show up," John offered.

"Where's the phone?" Natalie asked.

John led her into a quieter bedroom where there was a phone. She dialed home praying that either Jo or Blair picked up and not Ms. Garrett.

"Hello?" Blair answered.

Natalie felt relieved. "Blair I need a really, really, really, really big favor. I'm at a party and we've been drinking can you please come get me?"

"What's the address?" Blair asked without hesitation. Natalie gave her the information and Blair was on her way.

"What about you? Are you going to drive home after you've been drinking?" Natalie asked.

"Don't worry we'll be okay. We'll figure something out," John answered.

Natalie nodded and the three of them went outside to wait for Blair to arrive.


	4. The Morning After

Blair helped Natalie in through the living room. Blair had her arm around her to keep her balanced because she was having a hard time walking straight. She was concerned because it was out of character for her but glad Natalie took the initiative to call her. Instead of trying to talk to her about it on her own she decided she would wait to get Jo's opinion first.

"Keep quiet Ms. Garrett's awake helping Tootie rehearse for her audition," Blair whispered and Natalie obliged.

Blair helped her get up the stairs to get to their room. Natalie sat on her bed trying to keep her eyes open while Blair grabbed her pajamas out of her dresser and handed them to her.

"Here," Blair handed her pajamas to her. "I'll go get you a glass of water. You're going to want it to help prevent waking up to a hangover."

"Thanks," Natalie replied.

A couple minutes later Blair came back with her water but she had already fallen asleep. She sat it on the table beside her and came back downstairs to the living room. Jo was just coming in from a night out with her mother.

"How was your night?" Blair asked.

"It was nice. I'm glad she was able to get away from work and come to town for a change," Jo answered. She noticed Blair wore a stressed out expression on her face. "What's up with you? You look like hell."

"First of all Blair Warner never looks like hell," Blair shot back. She lowered her voice to avoid anyone from overhearing her. "It's Natalie. She got drunk at a party tonight and I had to go pick her up."

"Does Mrs. G know?" Jo asked.

"No at least not yet. I feel like it's my fault. When she brought her date in I knew I recognized him from somewhere I just didn't know where. It didn't hit me until later that I knew of him because some of my Langley friends were talking about partying with him. I've also heard rumors that he's brought drugs on campus. If I would have remembered sooner I would have told her," Blair explained.

"Natalie's the one that drank," Jo reassured her. "I've noticed some weird behavior with her too. She hung up on her mom when we were cleaning up the shop and I don't think she's called her back yet. Something must have happened."

"So what do we do? Do we talk to Natalie ourselves or do we get Ms. Garrett involved?"

"I think the best thing to do is tell Ms. Garrett," Jo replied. "She has already come home drunk and if this guy is in fact into drugs as well someone needs to get through to her that she shouldn't be hanging out with him. Ms. Garrett can do that quicker than you or I can."

"Yeah you're right," Blair agreed. "She's going to be angry at us."

"I'd rather have her angry with us than see her come home drunk again," Jo said.

Jo and Blair waited until she was done helping Tootie rehearse for her audition for a show she'd be doing over the summer if she landed the role. They caught Ms. Garrett before she headed to bed and told her about Blair having to go get Natalie and everything they knew about the situation. Needless to say Ms. Garrett was angry and made it clear she'd be talking to Natalie first thing in the morning.

* * *

When the next morning came Ms. Garrett kicked the other three girls out of their room so she could talk to Natalie alone. She could tell from the expression on Ms. Garrett's face Blair ratted her out.

"Blair told me what happened last night," Ms. Garrett said sternly. "I'm very disappointed in you right now."

Natalie sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't go out with the intention of getting drunk. It just happened."

"Tell me what happened," Ms. Garrett demanded as she took a seat on Tootie's bed across from hers.

"I went out with a friend. As far as I knew we were just going out to eat but he said that he had to get his friend because he was drunk. When we got there instead of getting him and leaving he sat with him. We hung out for a while and had a good time," Natalie explained.

Ms. Garrett's face grew angrier. "Blair told me about your friend. It doesn't sound like he's the best influence,"

"Well whatever Blair said she lied."

Blair and Jo were eavesdropping and Blair felt the need to explain herself and came in. Jo followed behind her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Ms. Garrett. Nat I know you're probably upset with me but I knew I recognized him. I realized after you left he's someone a few of my Langley friends have partied with. I've also heard rumors that he's brought drugs to school as well," Blair explained.

"Do you know how many rumors there were at Eastland about you that weren't true?" Natalie defended him. "He's not into drugs. He didn't force me to drink either. I drank because I wanted to forget everything for one night and have fun which is what I did."

"What is it that you're trying to forget about?" Ms. Garrett asked concerned.

Tootie popped in and realized everyone was having a conversation without her.

"There's a discussion going on and I wasn't included! I hate that you guys are still treating me like a little kid," Tootie whined.

"Not now Tootie," Jo shushed.

"Fine you're all here and you're all going to find out eventually so I might as well tell you all now. I decided I'm not going to college immediately after graduation," Natalie announced.

Jo, Blair and Tootie's eyes grew wide. There was an awkward silence for a little bit which was eventually broken by Jo. "There better be a good explanation for making such a stupid decision."

"Well what are your plans?" Ms. Garrett asked.

"My plan was to get on the road and see whatever I can see during the summer. You guys know how my mom feels about college though. She shot it down and told me I'm on my own so we're not speaking at the moment," Natalie answered.

"What happens after the summer is over?" Ms. Garrett wondered. "I know traveling sounds fun and all but you have to think about this long term."

"I'll keep working at the shop and look for a good writing job," Natalie explained. Don't worry guys I've put a lot of thought into this."

"You do realize you're odds of getting a good writing a job will be a lot greater with a college education don't you?" Blair pointed out.

"I know that. It's just what I have to do for myself. When the timing feels right I'll go but right now it doesn't."

"If you've been thinking about this for a while why did you bother to apply to so many colleges?" Jo asked.

"As a safety net in case I changed my mind. I also wanted to see which schools would accept me. So far I've only heard from and got into Langley," Natalie answered.

"If you're absolutely sure that's what you want to do then you should do it. I'm a little disappointed with your decision but I just want you to be happy," Ms. Garrett approved.

"I think it's crazy," Blair voiced her opinion. "But it's your life and we all just want what's best for you."

"Your mom is a reasonable woman. Maybe if you call her back you guys can work this out," Tootie said.

"Maybe," Natalie replied. "I'm glad you all understand at least."

Ms. Garrett stood up and put her hand on Natalie's shoulder. "Call her. I know she's been waiting to hear from you. We will continue discussing this afterwards."

* * *

Natalie knew Ms. Garrett was right and headed downstairs to use the phone and call her.

"Hello?" her mom answered.

"Hi mom," Natalie greeted.

"It's about time you call me back," her mom replied.

"I know and I'm sorry for not calling you back. I was just angry and I didn't want to talk."

"Natalie I wasn't trying to be mean. If I were super rich of course I'd fund your trip but I'm not and the money your father and I have put aside for you is for when you go to college. That's what he wanted you to use the money for and I'm not going to go against his wishes for this," her mom explained.

"I know you weren't. I'm still one hundred percent sure this is what I want to do though. I'll continue to look for a job and work until I can afford to go on my road trip."

Her mom wasn't thrilled but she had already made her opinion on the situation loud and clear and knew there was nothing she could say to make her change her mind. "Did Jo give you the message about the job opening I gave her?"

"Yes she did I didn't get the job though. Sorry I should have called you and told you about it."

"Don't worry about it honey I'm just glad you're talking to me now. If I see anything else I'll let you know."

"Thanks mom," Natalie replied. They casually chatted for a few minutes and then said goodbye.

After the girls ate breakfast Ms. Garrett sat her down and talked with her. She decided Natalie's punishment would only be to do extra work around the shop for the next two weeks as long as she promised not to do it again. Natalie thought that was fair and promised.

* * *

**A/N: Based on what I have planned in my head I'm guessing this story will be between 10-20 chapters long. That could change of course but that is what it's looking like right now.**


	5. Yes or No

A few days had passed since Natalie told everybody the truth. She talked to John on the phone twice for about ten minutes each but that's all the time she had because Ms. Garrett went full force with her punishment. Between work, homework and coming up with this month's article for the school newspaper she barely had time to breathe. Other than that everything was back to normal between the girls except for the eye rolls she would get whenever she was on the phone with John. Whatever Ms. Garrett felt she kept it hidden while Tootie, Blair and Jo weren't shy about showing their dislike with their facial expressions. As much as it angered her she bit her tongue and did her best to ignore them.

As she got ready for school she stood in front of the bathroom mirror running a brush through her hair. Tootie came close to her so she could talk quietly to try to avoid being overheard by anybody else.

"Sometime this evening you, me, Jo and Ms. Garrett have to get together and discuss what we're going to do for Blair's birthday this year," Tootie said softly.

"That's right," Natalie replied realizing that Blair's birthday was that upcoming weekend. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Dinner and a movie?" Tootie answered unsure. "That's pretty much what we did last year though."

"Well that's one more idea than I have at the moment," Natalie said as she walked over to put her notebooks in her backpack. "Hopefully Ms. Garrett or Jo has something better in mind." Tootie nodded in agreement as she grabbed her things off her bed.

Natalie and Tootie headed off to school together. The conversation on the way consisted mostly about Tootie's possible upcoming summer if she got the role she was waiting to hear about. As envious as she was she was thrilled for her best friend. Out of nowhere a thought entered Natalie's head that changed the topic.

"Here's a question. What do we get the girl who has enough clothes to open her own clothing store?" Natalie asked.

"Beats me," Tootie replied. "Jo mentioned something about her eyeing a watch at a jewelry store. We'll have to talk to her about it."

* * *

Once they arrived in front of Eastland, Natalie faintly heard someone yelling her name. She turned around to see him running to catch up to her.

"Who in the world is that?" Tootie asked.

"That's John," Natalie answered as he finally caught up. "You two haven't met yet. John this is Tootie."

"Nice to meet you," he greeted trying to catch his breath. Tootie nodded and faked a smile.

"Well I've got to get to school," Tootie said. "I better see you there," she sternly mumbled.

Tootie walked away from them. Natalie was definitely surprised to see him and she had no idea why he was there.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I know showing up here out of the blue is weird. I just wanted a chance to talk to you and we haven't gotten to do much of that the past few days," he explained.

"I'm sorry about that. I've been really busy."

"There's something I want to talk to you about that I didn't want to do over the phone," he paused. "I want to know what our relationship is."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I've enjoyed your company and hopefully you've enjoyed mine. Clearly we've become good friends but I want to know if there's a chance for us to be more than that," he stated.

Natalie wasn't sure what to say. The thought had crossed her mind a number of times during the past few days but she shrugged it off because she had other things to focus on. Even though she wasn't head over heels in love she couldn't deny she had some feelings and they were stronger than anything she felt for the guys she went on dates with in the past.

"To be honest I've wondered the same thing," she answered.

"Really?" he said with a look of relief on his face.

"Yeah, the past few days I've thought about it quite a bit," she explained.

"So if I asked you out what would you say?"

"Well," she paused. "You have to ask me to find out."

"Okay," he said as she grabbed her hand. "Natalie Green, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes I will." They both smiled at each other happily. "So when should we go get our matching tattoos?"

He laughed at her joke. "Maybe once your friends don't hate me. Tootie's response pretty much said it all."

"They don't hate you, they hate what we did," she explained. "Come over after I get out of school. The more they get to know you the more they'll love you."

"I've got class until four. I'll stop by afterwards," he responded.

"Sounds like a plan," she said as she heard the first bell go off. "I have to get inside school is starting. I'll see you around four." They gave each other a hug goodbye and she headed to class.

* * *

Once school ended Natalie rushed home to get ready to see him even though he wasn't going to be there for at least an hour. She was hoping to catch Tootie sometime during the day so she could tell her the great news but she didn't see her around. She was in the best mood she had been in all week. After all the recent drama she finally saw a bright spot in her future that she desperately needed.

As expected around 4:20 p.m. he appeared. They sat at a table in the shop so that way she could attend to customers if any came in. They weren't getting much business that day however so they weren't distracted.

"I missed you," he gushed. Even though only nine hours had passed since they last saw each other she felt the same way.

"I missed you too."

"So not to be a downer but when can we go out again?" he asked. He couldn't help but feel a little frustrated that they were stuck hanging out at the shop.

"I'll make time," she promised. She wasn't sure how considering how much she had going on but she was determined to make it work.

Ms. Garrett walked in and saw them sitting at the table together. She walked over and conversed with them.

"Hello," Ms. Garrett greeted. He reached out to shake her hand and she returned the gesture.

"Ms. Garrett this is my boyfriend John," she introduced. It made her smile just saying it.

"It's nice to meet you ma'am. Natalie has told me a lot of wonderful things about you and the rest of her friends."

Ms. Garrett wished she could say the same back to him. "Nice meeting you as well John. If you don't mind I'm going to borrow her for just a minute."

She took Natalie into the living room. Natalie was preparing to be lectured but she knew it was coming and mentally pictured how it would play out most of the day.

"So John's your boyfriend now?" Ms. Garrett asked.

"Yes. I know everyone's going to be upset but," Natalie tried defending herself before she was cut off.

"I know that you've learned a lesson from everything. I trust your judgment and if you want to date him that's your choice but I haven't forgotten about anything. If I find out he's into drugs or he has any more of a negative impact on your life than he already has I won't support it. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear."

Ms. Garrett nodded her head. She wasn't thrilled about it but she felt Natalie was almost an adult and had to make her own decisions. "There's nothing going on for you guys to stick around here for. Go ahead and go do something."

Natalie's face lit up. "Thanks!" She went and told him she could leave and they decided to go to the park where they first met and walk around.

* * *

About a half hour later Jo came in from outside and noticed the place was practically deserted except for Ms. Garrett sitting at a table balancing her checkbook.

"Where is everybody?" Jo asked. "If there wasn't the smell of croissants in the air I'd assume the place was out of business."

"Slow Monday. It was bound to happen with how busy we were the other day. I don't know where Blair and Tootie are but I gave Natalie permission to go out with her new boyfriend."

"Please tell me she met someone else," Jo replied. She couldn't Ms. Garrett was so nonchalant about it.

"Nope it's that John boy."

"How could you let her go out with him?" Jo questioned.

"Because I know my girls well enough to know when they've learned a lesson and I trust she'll make good judgment."

"For her sake I hope so."

Jo wasn't nearly as trusting as Ms. Garrett. She definitely didn't trust him and as much as she loved Natalie she wasn't so sure she could trust her judgment as of recently. She knew there was nothing she could say to Natalie that would change anything. All she could really do was watch her closely and hope for the best.


	6. Blair's Birthday

Natalie returned home later that evening feeling cheerful after having a great time. She walked in to see Ms. Garrett, Jo and Tootie sitting around having a conversation.

"Oh great you're just in time!" Ms. Garrett said. "We're brainstorming for what we're going to do this year for Blair."

"Have you guys come up with anything?" Natalie asked. She had not put much thought into it since her and Tootie last discussed it so she hoped they had something.

"We could just have a dinner at a nice restaurant," Ms. Garrett suggested repeating the idea they've had all along.

"Works for me," Jo replied.

Tootie wasn't happy with the idea. "You guys that isn't original. Come on we have to make this a birthday for her to remember. Blair will only turn twenty once. What if she thinks back to her twentieth birthday and can't remember it because it wasn't anything special?"

"Unless you have a better idea that is affordable going out to dinner sounds great to me," Jo responded.

"What about bowling? Tootie suggested. "It's a fun activity and I don't think we've ever been bowling together."

"I'm going to need a camera handy to capture Blair's face when she finds out she has to wear bowling shoes," Jo said sarcastically.

"Or when she breaks a nail inside the bowling ball," Natalie added.

Tootie shook her head at their response. "Okay so maybe bowling wasn't the best idea but it's the thought that counts!"

"Tootie, I'm sure Blair will love dinner and whatever gift we decide on," Ms. Garrett assured her.

Before Tootie could respond Blair entered the house. She was in a great mood and was humming as she flipped through the mail to see if anything was for her. She found a letter to her from her mother and opened it to find a birthday card.

"Yay! Another one to add to my collection," Blair exclaimed.

"What collection?" Natalie asked.

"Whenever my mom or dad is in a foreign country on my birthday they send me a birthday card from there. This year my mom is in Spain. I've also got some from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Scotland."

"Why is your mom in Spain?" Tootie asked.

"Sight-seeing of course. I don't think I've ever been there. Maybe it's something to consider for the summer."

* * *

After the girls ate dinner Natalie went upstairs to work on her homework. Jo shortly came upstairs as well to talk to her privately.

"Hey Nat. I wanted to talk to you about something is this a good time?"

"As good a time as any I guess," Natalie replied. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I'll just get to the point. Ms. Garrett told me you and John are dating now," Jo said.

"That is true," Natalie replied.

"I just want you to be careful. I hope that you're right about him being a good guy but I've never been a very trusting person unless people prove to me they're worth being trusted. We all care about you and don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"I know you guys do. You guys will have more of a chance to get to know him now that we're dating and you can see what I see and hopefully trust him more," Natalie said.

"I hope so. If he makes you happy then I'll lay off."

"As happy as I am you care enough to look out for me I'd appreciate that."

* * *

Three days later Blair's birthday arrived. Their plans were to go to Blair's favorite French restaurant in Peekskill. The girls all pitched in what they could afford and purchased the watch Jo noticed Blair admiring. Regardless of it being Blair's birthday everyone was busy with their own stuff so they agreed to meet up at the restaurant at seven o'clock.

After school Natalie met up with John at a nearby library close to Langley where he was studying.

She snuck up behind him and covered his eyes. "Guess who?"

"Mom is that you," he joked.

"Should I be worried?," Natalie commented. "You look like your studying something fierce."

"Tell me about it. I'm going to be up all night getting this research paper done. Want to trade places with me?"

"That fate is what I'm avoiding by not going to college," she replied.

"Well let's get out of here. Writing a paper isn't exactly what I'd call a fun time with my girlfriend," he said putting his stuff into his backpack.

"If you have to get your paper done I understand. I can help you with it," she offered. "Who better to have by your side than an aspiring writer?"

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I can pull an all-nighter tonight and get it done later."

"Of course. Let me read what you got," she said.

He pulled it back out from his backpack and handed it to her. She grabbed it and looked over what he had done so far.

"Other than a few grammatical errors it looks great so far," Natalie complimented.

"Well with Natalie Green by my side I'm sure it'll be the best paper I've ever written," he smiled as he put his hand on top of hers. She smiled back.

* * *

She continued helping him for a few hours losing track of time. She looked down at her watch and noticed it was six-thirty. He offered to give her a ride to the restaurant so she wouldn't be late and she accepted. They arrived there just in time.

"Thanks for helping me out with my paper," he thanked her as they stood outside the front of the restaurant.

"No problem. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to stick around long enough to help you finish it."

"Believe me you were a great help. I'm sorry we couldn't go out and do something more fun though. I'll make it up to you next time we see each other," he promised.

She smiled. Even though she didn't find helping him an inconvenience to her at all she understood what he meant. She looked in through the window and saw the girls at their table laughing waiting for her which gave her an idea.

"Why don't you join us?" she asked. "It'd be a great opportunity for my friends to get to know you and for us to hang out some more.

He looked confused. "Isn't this supposed to be for your friend? I doubt she would want me there."

"They won't care. Jo told me a few days ago she wants to get to know you," Natalie replied.

"If you're sure they won't mind," he accepted.

They walked into the restaurant and walked over to join the girls at the table.

"Hi everyone. I've invited my boyfriend to join us," Natalie announced. The four girls looked angry.

"Will you excuse us for a moment?" Ms. Garrett asked John. He nodded as she pulled Natalie away from the table far enough to where he wouldn't overhear her. "What are you thinking? How could you bring him here tonight?"

"I brought him here because he's my boyfriend and I want everyone to get to know him," Natalie explained.

"Today's not about you. It's about Blair. It's incredibly selfish to bring your own guests to an event for Blair. He can't stay so tell him to leave or I will," Ms. Garrett demanded.

"That's not fair Ms. Garrett! I already invited him," Natalie complained.

"So uninvite him and explain you had no business inviting him here tonight in the first place," Ms. Garrett replied. She shot Natalie a look of rage as she went back to her seat.

Natalie dreaded what she was forced to do. She walked over to talk to him but he already got the hint that he wasn't wanted there.

"I'm clearly not welcome like I suspected so I'm just going to go," he said.

"Wait please," as he turned away she grabbed his hand. "I'm really sorry this is completely my fault. I just didn't want to say goodbye."

"I appreciate that but now I look like an even bigger fool," he replied frustrated.

"You aren't mad at me are you?" she asked.

"We can talk about it later. Right now I just want to get out of here. Enjoy your evening and tell your friend I said happy birthday," he said then turned to walk away.

With a numb feeling in her chest she went back and took a seat with the girls. She knew the girls were irritated as well but weren't talking about it because they didn't want to ruin the evening. She decided to wait until the next day to apologize to everyone and enjoy celebrating the rest of Blair's birthday.


End file.
